The influence of working memory features on some formal aspects of translation performance

Rothe-Neves, Rui

doi:10.1075/btl.45.09rot

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…For example, to better understand the mental processes involved in translation, Lörscher (1991) investigated the strategic translation performance of 56 secondary school and university students by utilizing think-aloud protocols. Besides, Rothe-Neves (2003) analyzed the process features of translation performance with processing time and writing effort measures.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of task complexity and translating self-efficacy belief on students’ translation performance: Evidence from process and product data

2022

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Previous studies that explored the impact of task-related variables on translation performance focused on task complexity but reported inconsistent findings. This study shows that, to understand the effect of task complexity on translation process and its end product, performance in translation tasks of various complexity levels needs to be compared in a specific setting, in which more factors are considered besides task complexity—especially students’ translating self-efficacy belief (TSEB). Data obtained from screen recording, subjective rating, semi-structured interview, and quality evaluation were triangulated to measure how task complexity influenced the translation performance of Chinese students with high and low TSEB. We found that the complex task led to significantly longer task duration, greater self-reported cognitive effort, lower accuracy, and poorer fluency than the simple one among students, irrespective of their TSEB level. Besides, the high-TSEB group outperformed the low-TSEB group in translation accuracy and fluency in both tasks. However, the interaction effect of task complexity and TSEB was not significant, due possibly to weak problem awareness among students. Our study has implications for effectively designing task complexity, getting the benefits of TSEB, and improving research on translation performance.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of task complexity and translating self-efficacy belief on students’ translation performance: Evidence from process and product data

2022

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“…Only a handful of studies focus on translators' working memory capacity. Rothe-Neves (2003) investigated the influence of working memory on translation performance in an attempt to unravel the cognitive processes during translation tasks. He used verbal tasks adapted from Salthouse and Babcock's (1991) BAMT-UFMG test battery to compare processing speed, coordination and storage capacity between novice translators and professional translators.…”

Section: Cognitive Abilities Of Translatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the presumed cognitive advantage of aspiring interpreters

Rosiers

Woumans

Duyck

et al. 2019

INTP

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In complex tasks such as interpreting, the importance of a well-functioning working memory can hardly be overestimated. However, empirical studies have failed to produce consistent results with regard to an interpreter advantage in working memory. Recent studies tend to focus on the executive component of working memory. To our knowledge, no such study has compared the possible cognitive advantage of aspiring interpreters relative to other multilinguals before training takes place, in spite of the fact that excellent cognitive abilities are considered important in many interpreter selection procedures. In this study, we compared the working memory capacity and executive functions of a group of 20 student interpreters with two other groups of advanced language users who were all at the start of their Master’s training. Data were collected on three executive control functions: inhibition, shifting and updating. A forward and a backward digit span task for measuring the participants’ working memory capacity was also included in this study. Results revealed only negligible differences between the three groups at onset of training. The presumed cognitive advantage of aspiring interpreters with regard to executive control was not found.

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“…Some focused on the dynamic relationship between the storage and processing of verbal WM (e.g., Baddeley, 1986;Cowan, 1988;Juffs & Harrington, 2011;Oberauer, 2009;Sun et al, 2012), whereas others have focused on the language-(in)dependence of verbal WM performance (e.g., Harrington & Sawyer, 1992;Marton & Schwartz, 2003;Marton et al, 2006;Miyake & Friedman, 1998 Following the guideline proposed by Roscoe (1975), a sample size of at least 30 is deemed necessary in order to ensure the tests' results are accurate and sound. Such a sample size is typical for studies of this nature -for example, those of Rothe-Neves (2003) and Wang and Xu (2009). Initially, 35 students in their second or third year of a Master's degree in Translation and Interpreting from nine Chinese universities were invited to complete the three online selection tests.…”

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confidence: 99%

The impact of verbal working memory on written translation: Empirical evidence and an initial model

2021

LANS-TTS

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Working memory refers to a metaphorical mental workspace involved in the temporary storage and processing of information which has been considered a key construct in Cognitive Translation Studies. This study investigates whether verbal working memory in the translator’s first and/or second language is related to written translation speed and quality. Through three selection tests, 33 student translators in the second or third year of their Master’s in Translation and Interpreting at nine Chinese universities were selected to participate. In the first test, processing and storage capacities of verbal working memory in their first and second language were assessed separately by means of a dual-task paradigm implemented in the e-Prime software suite. In the second study, participants translated a technical text from their second language to their first language. Their behavioural data were collected with a keylogger and the quality of their translations was evaluated by four expert translators. The correlation analysis suggests that the processing function of verbal working memory in the second language does affect logged translation speed; and that the processing function of verbal working memory in the first language has an effect on translation quality. Furthermore, through regression analysis, an initial model was established, which shows the precise structure of the impact of bilingual working memory on written translation. These findings have significant implications for translation skills training. It appears that additional verbal working memory training for both first and second languages would enhance the students’ translation skills.

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The influence of working memory features on some formal aspects of translation performance

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

The impact of task complexity and translating self-efficacy belief on students’ translation performance: Evidence from process and product data

The impact of task complexity and translating self-efficacy belief on students’ translation performance: Evidence from process and product data

Investigating the presumed cognitive advantage of aspiring interpreters

The impact of verbal working memory on written translation: Empirical evidence and an initial model

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